Dan Hurley Might Be the NCAA’s Most Inspiring Coach

The Dan Hurley era at the University of Connecticut was first announced in March 2018, but it officially started with a win over Syracuse in October of that year. The underdog Huskies won a close game against their rival at Madison Square Garden and Hurley, previously at tiny Wagner College and a prep school in Newark, was aggressively pumped. The resulting video is the first time Hurley went viral for his intensity. As the buzzer sounded, one of his players gave him a chest bump so aggressive ribs could have been bruised. Hurley let out a primal scream. Then, instantly relaxed, he calmly shook the Syracuse coach’s hand in the postgame line. It was an announcement of character as much as it was the trumpeting of a big win. Connecticut, meet Dan Hurley. This is your new coach, and he’s a different kind of dude.